Frye will start against Pittsburgh, despite Quinn's successes

Friday

Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2007 at 1:46 AM

Quinn came out gunning, but all wasn't perfect.

Steve Doerschuk

Brady Quinn keeps cranking out touchdowns, but Charlie Frye is the guy for Cleveland.

In a 19-9 win Thursday night over the Bears, Frye started and played two innocuous series. Afterward, Head Coach Romeo Crennel told the team that Frye will start the Sept. 9 opener against the Steelers.

“Charlie is our quarterback,” veteran wideout Joe Jurevicius said.

For the third time in as many weeks — in his longest playing stint since getting drafted — Quinn led a touchdown drive early in his shift.

Quinn showed touch, precision and zip on a nine-play, 50-yard drive in the second quarter. Using short throws to move the ball, he hit wideout Travis Wilson three times and running back Jerome Harrison once.

The rookie quarterback played five series in front of a large Notre Dame constituency. He completed 9-of-14 passes for 64 yards, but it wasn’t all good.

After the touchdown, he played the entire third quarter without producing a first down.

Quinn threw his first interception of the preseason, missing Wilson and getting picked by linebacker Brendon Ayenbadejo, a fifth-year pro.

In his only other series, he helped build Wilson’s breakout game with a 15-yard strike, but on the next play, tackle Nat Dorsey false-started. A third-and-5 play designed for wideout Steve Sanders fell apart.
Crennel had some fodder for the argument against starting Quinn.

Both the Bears and Browns finished the preseason at 3-1. Joshua Cribbs had a big night, setting up a field goal with a 21-yard catch and giving the Browns a 12-0 lead on a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Quinn’s touchdown drive, capped by a Jerome Harrison 1-yard run, made it 19-0.

Bears starter Rex Grossman took a seat after one three-and-out series.

Frye didn’t get much more — running seven plays. He went 2-of-5 for 19 yards.

His first series started with a 16-yard catch-and-run by Braylon Edwards but quickly fizzled.

His second opened a quick thrill when Edwards had a beautiful pass deep down the right hash in his hands inside the 10. Edwards couldn’t hang on. The thrill was gone when the Browns soon punted.

Frye’s night was over six minutes into the game.

Derek Anderson was the second Browns quarterback in, producing a single field goal a second straight week. In three series, he went 6-of-9 for 93 yards.

Anderson came on and threw a dink completion to Kellen Winslow Jr. Anderson made up for an awful short incompletion with a short first-down throw to Edwards.

A blown formation prompted Anderson to call a timeout. After a run, Anderson waited too long for a sideline throw to Edwards. Punt.

The Cleveland defense kept handing the offense good field position — the Browns had the ball all but 118 seconds of the first quarter. In fact, Cleveland’s defense was sensational throughout the first half, forcing three-and-outs on Chicago’s first four possessions — the fourth resulted in Cribbs’ touchdown.

On Anderson’s second series, he rolled right and fired a 21-yard strike to Joshua Cribbs at the 11. A third-down pass toward the end zone, though, was tipped by two and almost three Bears.

Phil Dawson made a chip-shot field goal for a 3-0 lead.

Ken Dorsey played a nondescript fourth quarter.

Some Browns basically were rested. Running back Jamal Lewis ran 13 yards on four carries and took a seat.